BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The B-Sens squared off against both friend and foe Saturday night, taking on their former captain Denis Hamel and the East Division rival Adirondack Phantoms. Hamel received a warm welcome from the Binghamton crowd, but it would prove to be a bittersweet homecoming for the former B-Sen as the Senators dominated the Phantoms by a score of 7-3, despite two goals from Hamel.

It was the B-Sens who struck first, thanks to Colin Greening’s second goal of the season. 11:52 into the first period, Greening was able to sneak the puck past Phantom’s net minder Brian Stewart on a centering feed from Bobby Butler to put the B-Sens up 1-0. Corey Locke would assist on the play as well.

Locke opened up the second period with a quick goal 1:35 in, to give the B-Sens a comfortable 2-0 lead. It was Butler again who started the play, as he launched a shot wide of the net which ricocheted off the end boards, allowing Locke to gather the rebound and fire a shot past the helpless Stewart. Greening would earn his second point of the night with a helper as well.

Nearly twelve minutes into the period, Kaspars Daugavins was called for hooking giving the Phantoms a power play, which Hamel would capitalize on. A scramble in front of the B-Sen’s net for the loose puck blocked the view for Barry Brust, and Hamel was able to force the puck past the B-Sens goaltender to cut the lead to 2-1.

Binghamton found their offensive groove however, notching three goals in less than three minutes to close out the second. 16:28 in, Locke faked a slap shot and sent a pass to the crease for Daugavins, who sent one towards the net, where Ryan Keller was waiting to hammer it home.

Before the B-Sens had finished celebrating, Craig Schira netted his first goal of the season just 31 seconds later. Roman Wick and Jim O’Brien earned helpers on the play, tallying their first points of the night.

Less than two minutes later, Mike Hoffman capped off the B-Sens offensive run with his first professional goal. Hoffman took a pass from Andre Beniot in towards the net, faked a shot forcing Stewart to dive the wrong way and wrapped the puck around him to give the B-Sens a commanding 5-1 lead heading into the third.

Riding on their momentum from the second period, the B-Sens began the third with more of the same offensive prowess, adding to their lead early on. Exactly 3:00 into the period, Keller chipped in his second goal of the night, corralling a rebound off Daugavins’ shot and sending the put-back past Stewart once again. Eric Gryba earned an assist on the play as well.

Two and a half minutes later, Butler added a goal of his own, with helpers from Greening and Locke, giving the trio three, three and four points respectively on the night.

Adirondack attempted to weather the storm, shelling Brust with 18 shots over the final period, but the Binghamton offensive explosion proved to be too much to overcome. Ben Holmstrom beat Barry Brust top shelf to cut the Binghamton lead to 7-2, 6:32 into the third. Just under seven minutes later, Hamel netted his second goal of the night against his former team, but this would be all the Phantoms could muster, as the B-Sens would go on to win 7-3.

The B-Sens return to the ice tomorrow as they host the Syracuse Crunch. Game time is set for 5:05 p.m. All fans in attendance receive a B-Sens team photo. Tickets are $17.75 for side seating, $16.75 for end seating. Fans can purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 or in person at the Binghamton Senators’ executive office or the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena box office.